Maple molasses is simply maple sap boiled until it reaches the consistency of molasses, thicker than syrup, but not boiled down to sugar crystals. This recipe calls for neither barley nor hops, but many recipes did. A recipe for maple beer that appeared in The Balance, and Columbian repository, Volume 4, a magazine from 1805, notes that malt or bran may be added to the beer. In The Backwoods of Canada, Catherine Parr Traill’s maple beer recipe called for no barley, but she saw hops as an essential ingredient. Recipes for maple vinegar were quite common in the early 1800s when commercially produced vinegar was expensive and hard to obtain in the backwoods of Canada. Housewives and brewers would have had to be careful when brewing beer and vinegar in the same household, as the yeast that makes vinegar is different from the yeast that makes beer, though they act on the same principle ingredients. The brewer would have to be careful or everything he or she brewed would turn to vinegar!

Our Maple Porter is a deep mahogany brown beer. The maple is quite evident on the nose, but the predominant taste at first sip are complex dark
chocolate notes. It’s a smooth, rich beer with a long finish – just when you think it’s done, the maple resurges for another round. Our Maple Porter is only available in the historic brewery while supplies last – and they’re going fast!

In other news, you may have noticed that it’s been hot lately. Very hot. This isn’t really the weather for stouts and porters. So we’re cutting back on our darker beers and focusing more on our IPA, Pale Ale, and Best Bitter – yes, it’s making a comeback this year!

So, come enjoy the summer days at Black Creek Pioneer Village and stop by our historic brewery to pick up a growler of Maple Porter!